Updates, advisories and surprises

(5:54 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ambac Financial Group Inc.
ABK, -1.30%
the bond insurer that filed for bankruptcy this week, said late Tuesday that third-quarter net income came in at $76 million, or 25 cents a share. That compares to third quarter 2009 net income of $2.19 billion, or $7.58 a share, the company added.

Tesla loses $34.9 million, sales drop

(4:40 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Electric car maker Tesla Motors, Inc.
TSLA, +1.11%
late Tuesday reported a third-quarter loss of $34.9 million, or 38 cents a share, compared with a loss of $4.6 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier when the company was still privately held. Sales came in at $31.2 million, down from $45.5 million, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a loss, on average, of 50 cents a share with sales of $31.4 million. Tesla shares closed down 35 cents at $24.63 but are still well above their IPO price of $17 earlier this year.

IGT swings back to profit

(4:27 PM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch)-- Cost savings and fewer charges helped International Game Technology swing back into the black in its fiscal fourth quarter, the gambling equipment supplier said Tuesday. IGT
IGT, +0.31%
earned $20 million or 7 cents a share, on the period, a turn from a loss of $29 million or 10 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned $53 million or 18 cents a share, flat with year-ago levels. Revenue came in at $496 million, down from $512 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet Research had been for IGT
IGT, +0.31%
to earn 19 cents a share on revenue of $496 million.

Lions Gate moves to loss on debt charges

(4:26 PM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
LGF, +0.18%
said Tuesday that it swung to a second-quarter loss of $30 million, or 22 cents a share, on charges related to the extinguishment of debt. The film studio earned $31.7 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose to $456.3 million from $366.1 million. Motion picture revenue rose 23% on box office receipts from "The Expendables" and "The Last Exorcism." Home entertainment revenue declined 5%, with no significant TV-to-DVD releases in the period. Television revenue rose 15% on pay-television fees resulting from "Precious," "Brothers," "Gamer" and "I Can Do Bad All By Myself."

MBIA reports quarterly net loss of $213 mln

(4:15 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- MBIA Inc.
MBI, +5.39%
said late Tuesday that it had a third-quarter net loss of $213 million, or $1.06 per common share. That compares to a net loss of $728 million, or $3.50 a share, in the third quarter of 2009. MBIA said its adjusted pre-tax loss was $68 million in the latest period. Chief Financial Officer Chuck Chaplin said insured losses continued to moderate in the third quarter, versus the same periods of 2008 and 2009. He also said the liquidity position of MBIA Corp., an important subsidiary, has "significantly improved" compared to earlier this year. "The litigation that constrains our re-entry into the U.S. public finance insurance business continues, but our belief that the New York State Insurance Department made the right decision in February 2009 is borne out by the fact that we continue to pay all claims and obligations as they come due," Chaplin added. MBIA shares slipped 2.4% to $11.02 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

Shares of Pinnacle Airlines jump 18% on earnings

(2:01 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
PNCL
rose as much as 18% on Tuesday after the carrier posted a third-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates. For the recent quarter, the Memphis, Tenn., airline said it earned $9.4 million, or 51 cents a share, versus $11.4 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 41 cents a share, on average. Shares of Pinnacle were up 14.3% at last check to $6.47. Earlier the stock reached an intraday high of $6.67.

S&P Equity reiterates strong buy on Chevron

(1:32 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- S&P Equity Research on Tuesday reiterated its strong buy rating on Chevron
CVX, -0.67%
after the oil giant set plans to buy Atlas Energy Inc.
ATLS, -2.54%
in a deal valued at $4.3 billion. "We like the deal and view it as fair," analyst Tina Vital said in a note to clients.

Metabolix tumbles on earnings report, downgrade

(12:57 PM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of bio-plastics developer Metabolix Inc.
MBLX, +72.61%
tumbled 20% to $11.00 on Tuesday, the day after the company released a disappointing earnings report. Metabolix posted a third-quarter loss of $10 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with $9 million, or 41 cents a share, for the 2009 quarter. Revenue slid to $46,000 from $600,000. Early Tuesday, analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock to underweight.

(10:53 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American Public Education Inc.
APEI, -3.55%
shares added 23% to $33.16 in early trading on Tuesday after the online provider of higher education reported double-digit percentage gains in both third-quarter earnings and revenue. The company also offered an upbeat look at the fourth quarter. American Public Education stock is still down 4% since the beginning of the year despite the bounce.

LDK Solar shares up 6% after earnings

(10:47 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of LDK Solar Co.
LDK
were up more than 6% in early trading Tuesday after the company tripled its third-quarter earnings compared to the year-ago period. LDK Solar also said it expects its fourth-quarter revenue of between $710 million and $750 million, well ahead of analysts' estimates of $579.4 million. At the latest, the stock was up 6.5% for the sessions, and has doubled in price in 2010.

Genomic Health rockets as drug indexes ease

(10:13 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of genetic testing group Genomic Health
GHDX, -1.35%
soared as the drug sector's two main indexes eased in early action Tuesday. Genomic Health shares shot up 20% after it released a much improved third-quarter financial report. Meanwhile, the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index
$DRG
hovered the flat line at 309.76 while the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index
$BTK
dipped 0.4% to 1163.37.

Dean Foods shares sink 15% on weak outlook

(10:07 AM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Dean Foods
DF, -0.31%
shares sank 15% to $8.80 early Tuesday after the nation's largest milk processor posted a disappointing third-quarter profit and issued a weak fourth-quarter forecast. Dean is being hammered by escalating costs for butterfat and low prices for store-brand milks. Butterfat, a key ingredient in the company's creamer and ice cream products, is up 70% over the same 2009 period. Dean makes International Delight coffee creamers, Land O'Lakes butter, and Horizon Organic milk. Its shares are down 52% year-to-date.

(9:19 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Sempra Energy
SRE, +1.18%
said Tuesday its third-quarter earnings fell to $131 million, or 53 cents a share, from $317 million, or $1.27 a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the operator of natural gas power plants earned $265 million, or about $1.07 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of $1.06 a share, on average. For the year, Sempra affirmed its adjusted profit outlook of $3.15 to $3.40 a share. The Wall Street consensus is for 2010 earnings of $3.64 a share. Sempra shares fell a fraction premarket to $53.29.

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